ST. JOHN SPICE
NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2011
NEWS FROM ST. JOHN SPICE:
Happy
Holidays from St. John! At St. John Spice, we are busy getting ready for
another season.
We
are pleased to announce that early in 2012 we will be totally redesigning our
web site to include an on-line shopping cart. This is a long overdue
improvement. We appreciate the support of our loyal customers over the years
and we’re glad to finally be taking these steps to make ordering easier for
you.
Unfortunately,
we also have to announce that we will be raising some of our prices next year.
Since 1999, we have kept the prices for our Signature Grilling Spices and
quarter pounds of coffee and tea at $5.00. Due to significant cost increases
from suppliers and shippers and the phenomenal increase in our electric bills,
we will be increasing the price of these items on January 1st, 2012.
Order before January 1, 2012 to stock up before the price increases!
We
have added many new items to our current web site. If you would like to place
an order, give us a call toll-free at 877-693-7046. The
order deadline for Christmas delivery is December 15th. We will ship
your order via U.S. Priority Mail, which typically takes 3-5 days to arrive at
a stateside destination.
RESTAURANT NEWS:
In
the year since our last newsletter, there have been many changes in St. John’s
restaurant line-up.
In May, Jim Rattz and Kelli
Thomas purchased High Tide from Jason Bergner who has relocated to Puerto Rico
with his wife and new baby. Jim (“Jimbo”) and Kelli have sponsored many
community events and fund-raisers in the past few months. We welcome them to
the neighborhood! They have added some
new items to the High Tide menu. See the new menu on the High Tide web site
here: http://www.hightidevi.com/
The
new owner of Island Blues is Colette Diede of St. John’s 6-Paq Scuba fame.
Colette has lined up a new staff for the popular Coral Bay restaurant and has
received permission to operate her scuba operation out of the location as well.
Happy
Fish, Spyglass and The Deli Grotto also all have new owners.
The café in the courtyard
behind St. John Spice formerly known as Mojo Café is now Café Livin. The owners
are Bill Etter and Olivia White who were managing Mojo Café for several years
for the former owner.
At the Westin Resort, Cruz
Bay Prime Restaurant has undergone a minor remodel and has a new 
General Manager, Demetrios
(“D.J.”) Ahladis. Some of you may remember Demetrios from his years as a
bartender at The Banana Deck and The Lime Inn. Cruz Bay Prime serves local fish
and lobster as well as dry aged prime-cut beef. Stop by and visit Demetrios
Wednesday through Saturday. Cruz Bay Prime serves dinner only.
(Cruz Bay Prime photo courtesy of www.on-stjohn.com)
In September of 2010 we
wrote about a fire that had destroyed the local eatery Hercules Delight, owned
by Arthur and Monica Hercules. We are pleased to report that the Hercules
couple has rebuilt their establishment and are once again serving delicious
pates as well as breakfast and lunch. If you are interested in finding out exactly
what a local pate is, watch the video from our friends at on-stjohn.com and see
Arthur and Monica Hercules in action.
www.on-stjohn.com/2011/07/05/meet-arthur-hercules
One of our favorite lunch
spots for the past few years was the G Spot at Larry’s Landing. The “G” was for
Mike “Garbo”, a long-time St. John resident and favorite local talent. Since Larry’s Landing recently closed, Mike
Garbo is now serving up his home-style meals at Joe’s Rum Hut. Mike changes the
menu daily and presents creative and reasonably priced hot food options served
cafeteria style. Joe’s Rum Hut also serves great soups, sandwiches and pizza
and is open for lunch and dinner. New tables and chairs have been introduced
and new tile gives Joe’s Rum Hat a new café image. Of course they are still
serving great drinks at the bar. For Joe’s Rum Hut take-out, call Mike at
775-5200.
The island charm of the
patio dining at the Inn at Tamarind Court is too often overlooked as a great
breakfast and dinner option. The Inn offers “Local Guest Chefs” several nights
a week. These chefs tend to be experienced and talented chefs who might want to
do something in addition to their regular jobs or who are working towards
starting their own restaurants. The chefs’ menus offer diverse dining
experiences. There is parking in the back of the Inn. For current menus, send
an email to info@tamarindcourt.com.
One new St. John restaurant
started out from an Inn at Tamarind Court’s “Local Guest Chef” night.
GastroGrub is now open on the second floor of the
Marketplace, in the former location of La Plancha del Mar. GastroGrub is the
culinary brainchild of Chef and Bartender Allen Lancaster. Allen is a familiar
face to many from his years bartending at The Stone Terrace and Waterfront
Bistro. The menu is fun and innovative. GastroGrub serves lunch and dinner and
frequently presents special theme nights. See the web site or the GastroGrub
Facebook page for information on upcoming events.
Baked
in the Sun has moved from their old location on the third floor of the
marketplace to a new location on the left just past the new roundabout and next
to the Inn at Tamarind Court. They are serving up the same delicious sandwiches
and their cakes are as wonderful as ever.
In
Baked in the Sun’s old location on the third floor of the marketplace is Sam
& Jack’s Deli. Excellent sandwiches, soups, gourmet items and grab and go
dinners that can be heated up and served in minutes.
La
Plancha is doing well in their new location and has added “Dinner and a Movie”
every Saturday night. www.laplanchadelmar.com
We
wrote last year about the opening of Fatty Crab just up the street from
Woody’s. We enjoy Fatty Crab and appreciate the enthusiasm of the staff,
especially when finding creative ways to use local ingredients. Many of these
ingredients are brought to the Fatty Crab team by people who live here and who
have risen to the challenge of spotlighting edibles that St. John produces.
Stop by and visit Fatty Crab and check out what they’re doing there.
The Woody’s gang also
welcomes the Iguana Grill in the old Subway
spot.
According to the staff, it’s nice to have other restaurants around to make the
area a lively destination for dining and limin. Woody’s, Quiet Mon, La Tapa,
Fatty Crab and now the Iguana Grill. A hot spot!
After years of being closed on
Wednesdays, the Banana Deck is now open seven days a week. The Banana Deck’s
Make-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar is still offered on Saturday and Sunday 11am-3pm.
www.thebananadeck.com
Our friend and local
newspaper reporter Bob Tis has come out of retirement. Bob was one of the first
people we met when we first visited St. John and he wrote a funny story about
us once upon a time. http://stjohnspice.com/aboutus.htm. Bob has a new gig
bartending at Cool Desires across from the National Park Building on the way to
Mongoose Junction. Bob has a lot of stories to tell and he’s a very good
listener. Stop by and visit him after three o’clock most days. The customers
were lined up at the bar the day we passed by.
PLACES TO STAY:
We’ve been hearing a lot
about the new Amore Apartments from Donald Schnell’s Artistic Villas. These
properties are comfortable and nicely furnished and decorated at a very good
price within walking distance to town. The Amore Building is just beyond the
rotary. Take a look here: www.donaldschnell.com
OTHER NEWS:
If you haven’t visited St. John
since earlier this year, you will see the new Franklin Powell Park for the
first time as you arrive. The park renovation took all of last season (February
through August). The new park look is very different, especially since the
budget ran out before the landscaping happened.
One enterprising group from
Gift Hill School managed to battle the bureaucracy and receive permission to
plant one of the twelve planters as part of their GHS Gives Back day. In true
community spirit, one of our taxi drivers jumped in to show the kids how deep
to dig a hole to insure the plant’s survival. The kids learned a lot. One
planter down, eleven to go.
People
around the globe have been waiting to hear the fate of the Maho Bay Eco-Resort
. The property on which the campground sits is for sale and the lease for the
campground was set to expire in 2012. On November 19th, owner
Stanley Selengut announced that the lease had been extended for one additional
year. Selengut announced:
“The Maho
landowners have just extended the lease through June of 2013. I agreed to this
with great relief. This last lease extension will offer everyone an opportunity
to enjoy Maho for two more winter seasons. I will not accept another short-term
extension. We will either get a long-term lease which will allow for some
wonderful capital improvements and investment in new technologies or close at the end
of the lease in June 2013.” at the end of the lease in June 2013.
To read more about this, see Lynda Lohr’s story in
the St. John Source here: at the end of the lease
in June 2013.
http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/local-news/2011/11/19/maho-bay-gets-one-year-reprieve
You can imagine the
stress and anxiety of our employees, boat captains, artists, concessionaires
and all the small businesses who make Maho special, not knowing if they have a
job next year and who need to prepare for their own future.You can imagine the
stress and anxiety of our employees, boat captains, artists, concessionaires
and all the small businesses who make Maho special, not knowing if they have a
job next year and who need to prepare for their own future.at the end of the
lease in June 2013.Best,Stanley Selengut
After twenty years in the
same location, Low Key Watersports has moved. They are the first tenants in a
new complex across the street from Wharfside Village and next to the Grande Bay
Resort. Some construction continues in the new spot, but the retail shop and
dive programs are fully operational. Stop by and check it out and welcome the
Low Key gang to their new digs. www.divelowkey.com
The Beach Bar Boutique has
opened up in part of the space vacated by Low Key Watersports. Get your Beach
Bar gear here.
It’s
hard to believe that we have been living in our new home for over a year now. Almost
immediately upon taking up residence in the Grateful Shed Ron began exerting
pressure to get a dog. He wanted a BIG dog. I have never had a dog before and I
wasn’t sure that I wanted any kind of dog at all, but I was pretty sure that I
would prefer a medium size dog.
In
August the decision was made for us. The Animal Care Center was in the lobby of
the Starfish Market with several dogs that needed homes. I looked across the
lobby and spotted a cute medium sized white furry dog. He bolted towards me and
I leaned over as he leapt up and hugged me and licked my face excitedly. I
cried and the rest is history. Two days later, he was the newest resident of
the Grateful Shed.
Meet
Curly Spice. He is a nine-year-old Cocker Spaniel who has lived in the same
home all his life. His owner was very loving and Curly was well cared for but
his owner was unable to keep him for health reasons. We feel very fortunate
that Curly found us.
He
is a great dog and has adjusted to his new home and workplace with the
enthusiasm of a puppy. Everyone he meets is his new best friend. In fact, he
has become quite the celebrity and even has his own Facebook page. Visit him
there or in person. He only works at St. John Spice in the morning, since afternoons
are apparently for napping, if you are a dog.
See
you on St. John!
Ruth
and Ron
www.stjohnspice.com
FOR
PRIOR NEWSLETTERS, CLICK HERE
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